While transition from primary to secondary school is an exhaustively researched area, there is limited research into how the ideas and insights of children, particularly those with Special Educational

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Student Wellbeing and the Primary to Secondary School Transition: A Narrative Literature Review (2026) · doi

  This narrative literature review aimed to answer the research question, ‘How is student experience of the primary to secondary school transition represented in the literature and supported in practice?’ by identifying and synthesising contemporary themes within the field. Despite best efforts, it is possible that some relevant literature might have been missed during the search processes; additionally, the literature located represents a largely Western focus and future endeavours will focus on locating research representing a greater diversity of cultures and backgrounds. The paucity of studies investigating factors such as psychological needs during school transition and diverse student backgrounds (e.g. students with a variety of additional support needs) makes it difficult to identify key themes or to generalise findings in these areas; further, this then limits the ability to plan effective policies and practices to support the wide gamut of students at their specific points of need. Methodologically, the inclusion of other literature reviews in this narrative review could be viewed as a limitation due to the potential crossover of articles; however, 15 using the review documents for their original ideas provided valuable insights in support of the themes developed. A meta-synthesis of all extant literature reviews might be a fruitful contribution to the field. Finally, primary to secondary school transition research is an active and constantly evolving area, meaning that the findings of this literature review should be considered in conjunction with emerging literature.

  Keywords: literature review school transition themes support narrative student primary secondary field focus backgrounds needs students
• <i>My New School</i> : transition to high school for children with special educational needs in England – findings and ideas for practice (2019) · doi

  While transition from primary to secondary school is an exhaustively researched area, there is limited research into how the ideas and insights of children, particularly those with Special Educational Needs (SEN), could inform or guide successful school transition planning.

  Keywords: transition school primary secondary exhaustively researched area there limited ideas insights children particularly special educational
• Narratives of Maternal Action and Cultural Re-evaluation in Relation to the Transition to School (2022) · doi

  The transition to primary school is widely seen as a period of multifaceted transformations and adoptions of different strategies for parents, yet relatively little is known about the lived transition experiences of parents from diverse (linguistic, cultural, socio-economic) backgrounds.

  Keywords: transition parents primary school widely seen period multifaceted transformations adoptions different strategies relatively little known